Glasel states that increasing quantitative evidence points to the conclusion that children are more susceptible to infection by microbial pathogens picked up from their environments than older persons exposed to the same pathogens.

He notes that as far as the survival of pathogens on surfaces — scientists refer to an inanimate object that is contaminated with pathogens as a fomite — is concerned, a very important and widely quoted recent paper reveals that viable common pathogens may persist on surfaces for times ranging from two hours to more than four years, depending upon the species.

Glasel adds that the efficiencies of transfer of microbials to mouths from hands that have become contaminated by touching contaminated surfaces have been found to be about the same as the transfer efficiencies from hard surfaces to hands — 30 to 40 percent.

According to Glasel, using the squeegee method for desktop cleaning/disinfection in an elementary school resulted in a significant reduction in absenteeism — over 30 percent.

Dr. Glasel is the managing member and founder of Global Scientific Consulting LLC. He is also a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Microbial, Molecular and Structural Biology at the University of Connecticut Medical/Dental School in Farmington, CT. Co-editor and an author for the Academic Press textbook Introduction to Biophysical Methods for Protein and Nucleic Acid Research, Dr. Glasel''s scientific research has been in the fields of structural biochemistry, molecular immunology, pharmacology and cell biology.